Global Missions

Paul & Kate Clark

House of Hope

Haiti

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Update:

So we have been back in Haiti for a month, and it was a busy one. The first three and half weeks have been filled with groups and a lot of work. It’s been tiring, but so much has been achieved that I look back at the whirlwind those three weeks were and thank God for all the blessings they brought.

Week 1

Kate and I got the neat opportunity to travel and spend our first week back with my Dad and the youth from Boones Creek. I always enjoy sharing our work in Haiti with family and my home church. They spent the week just having quality time with the girls here at the orphanage, and with the boys from The Pitch in the community. It’s a unique experience to see American youth taking time out of their lives to come and spend time with the youth of Haiti, and to share their love of Christ together. You could see each kid growing in their faith, and see the genuine love they had for all the kids in Haiti they interacted with. They hosted two days of Vacation Bible School, and connected very well with kids from the community. They also spent some time with 27 elderly “grannies” and sang songs, painted nails, and laughed together. To see two different generations from two different cultures come together and enjoy time together in Christ is a true blessing. I also saw the Boones Creek youth grow together. They came as friends but I feel they left with an even stronger bond and stronger friendships, and that was achieved because of a common love for Christ. Getting to spend our first week back with these kids was a true blessing. They even taught the Haitians baseball!!

Week 2

This is the week I look forward to the most while in Haiti: the annual “The Pitch” soccer tournament. For those of you that know me well, you know I have a shared passion with the Haitians for “futbol.” The Pitch was started to give boys in the community a safe place to come play the game they love, to be surrounded by people who care for them, and most importantly, share the love of Christ with them. For the third year in a row Harvester Christian Church, Kate’s home church from St. Charles, Missouri, came to participate in the tournament. We had 36 Haitian participants and we hosted a three-day soccer tournament. Throughout the week Harvester teamed up with The Pitch and we held daily devotions and fed each player every day. At the end of the week we had one player, who is also a friend of mine, baptized into God’s Kingdom. We have been talking to him about baptism for around two years and he made the decision because of the relationships he has built through The Pitch. We have now had ten of The Pitch boys enter into Christ’s covenant though baptism. Harvester also took some time to serve and appreciate the Haitian staff at House of Hope. They bought food from local cooks and vendors and ate a meal with all of the staff. It was very obvious that the staff appreciated the small token of thanks and gratitude that we all feel for them. Thank you to Harvester for not only equipping and participating in the tournament for the last three years, but for building and continuing in relationships with all of our boys at The Pitch. We give praise to our Father for unique the opportunities He gives us to share His word, love, and salvation.

Week 3

For the third and final week of non-stop teams, we hosted a group from Stillwater, Pennsylvania. Stillwater Christian Church has been coming to House of Hope for several years in a row now. They especially love the grannies in our granny program, so they hosted a party for them. They did devotion with them, prepared a meal, and held a talent show. The girls from the orphanage were the stars of the show! They sang, danced, and had lots of fun performing for everyone. They are usually shy in front of large groups, but they got outside their comfort zones. We are so proud of them! Stillwater also hosted two days of Vacation Bible School. It’s neat to see groups picking up where others left off. They followed up with what Boone’s Creek did for VBS two weeks prior. The kids from our neighborhood really enjoy consistent time and interaction with work teams. Stillwater finished up their week with a few odd jobs around the orphanage. Doing those kinds of things for House of Hope takes them off of our plates, and off of the staff’s plates, giving us all more time to spend with the kids and with the various ministries down here.

Paul and Kate

Besides hosting work teams all summer we are also continuing with our former roles, as well as some new ones. Kate is continuing to work with the girls, helping to make sure their daily needs are met and that everything thing they need for the day is distributed out. She is also still working as the supervisor of the monthly budget, and training staff on how to manage a budget. In addition to these jobs, Kate will begin working in supervisory roles with the staff and with Patti’s School, the school on our campus. She is looking forward to helping the staff and making their jobs better and more fulfilling, and getting to work with the teachers and students from the community that attend the school.

Paul is continuing his role managing The Pitch in country and working along side Hope Christian Church that is located here on property. Along with these roles, he loves being the ‘big brother” to all the girls here at the orphanage. Many of the girls have never had a positive male in their lives and he enjoys showing them the role of a Christ centered male in their lives. In addition to these roles, Paul will become the American coordinator for all four churches that are run by AHBZ in Haiti. He will help work with the Pastors on sermon planning, the importance of baptism and communion (Haiti has very legalistic views on these topics) and making sure the churches get what they need, yet training them to become independent at the same time. He is looking forward to seeing how God will use these four churches, and hopes to help plant more in the future.

Amelie

We are also growing closer to being able to start the adoption process each and every day. We are anxious to begin, but trust in God’s timing. Meanwhile, we are getting to spend lots of quality time with Amelie. Out of all of our jobs here at House of Hope, this is by far our favorite and most treasured one. Amelie is an adorable bundle of sass and joy. She makes us laugh and smile every day. Every night during the girls’ devotion time, Amelie prays fervently for both of our families and friends, and for people in the community who don’t have homes, food, or families. She prays for people in the hospital, and even prays that people in jail would come to know Jesus. We are so proud of her precious, growing faith in Christ. She also graduated kindergarten last week! In Haiti, that is a big achievement worthy of much celebration! Kindergarten graduation parties consist of music, prayer, dances, cake, and even skits. Amelie got to wear a beautiful dress that made her feel like a princess. She danced and sang and was the star of the skit. Needless to say, we beamed with pride the whole time and took lots of pictures! We ask for your continued prayers for the adoption. Please pray that we can start soon, and that God will guide and direct us each step of the way. Please also pray for all of our hearts during times of separation.

Thank you all so much for your prayers, support, and love that you have given us. Without you none of work is possible. We love you all!